Politics of the 1950s and 1960s: Rise of the Modern Civil Rights Movement
Overview
Timeframe: 1945 to mid-1960s.
Civil Rights Movement: Involved various activist groups working towards common goals of civil rights.
Historical Context: Civil rights activism predates this period and continues today. Modern movements like Black Lives Matter trace heritage to these historical movements.
Cultural Context Post-WWII
Domestic Containment: Post-WWII period characterized by American anxiety and formation of 'traditional values' as a reaction to communism.
White Middle-Class Culture: Predominantly white, middle-to-upper class embraced these values.
Economic Expansion: Government played a significant role in economic policies that often benefited working-class whites.
Challenges to Civil Rights
Jim Crow Laws: Segregation and discrimination were legally sanctioned, particularly in the South, but also nationally.
Voting Rights: Black people faced obstacles to voting despite constitutional guarantees.
Segregation: Pervasive in housing and schools; redlining was a common discriminatory practice.
Legal and Judicial Activism
Judicial Pathways: Activists like Thurgood Marshall challenged segregation through courts.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Landmark Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Impact: Desegregated schools, but progress was slow and often resisted.
Rise of Activism
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Key figure advocating nonviolent protest and raising public awareness.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Founded by young activists like Stokely Carmichael, focused on voting rights and desegregation.
Government Intervention
Media Influence: Television coverage of police violence helped raise national awareness.
Kennedy's Address (1963): Statement on civil rights as a moral imperative.
Civil Rights Act (1964): Barred racial discrimination; Voting Rights Act (1965) eliminated voter suppression laws.
American Politics in the 1960s
Kennedy's New Frontier: Focused on programs like the Peace Corps and tax cuts.
Foreign Policy: Involved in Vietnam and Cuban affairs.
Vietnam: Kennedy increased U.S. presence.
Cuba: Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis.
Johnson's Great Society
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ): Continued Kennedy's legacy with policies aimed at poverty reduction and civil rights.
Major Initiatives: Medicare, Department of Transportation, HUD.
Immigration Act of 1965: Ended racially specific quotas, leading to diverse immigration.
Shift in Political Landscape
1968: Marked by social and political upheaval.
Richard Nixon's Election: Represented a conservative backlash to the era of activism.
Conclusion
The period was marked by significant civil rights advances amid resistance and cultural transformation. The legacy of these decades continues to influence contemporary social and political movements.